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Indian Express
4 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Tewari raises railway station work, govt says no fixed timeline can be given for completion
The long-promised redevelopment of the Chandigarh Railway Station under the Amrit Bharat Station (ABS) Scheme remains mired in delays and uncertainty, with the Ministry of Railways admitting in Parliament that no fixed timeline can be provided for its completion. This comes in a response, given to a question raised by MP Manish Tewari in the Lok Sabha on August 6. Speaking on the matter, Chandigarh MP Tewari expressed his disappointment, stating, 'It is unfortunate that rather than recognising the utter chaos, anarchy and mayhem that prevails at the railway station, the ministry's response avoids accountability. The answer gives no timeline for when the renovation will finally be over and fails to offer any solution to the persistent parking mess. In all, the reply betrays the total inefficiency of the Railway Ministry.' Meanwhile, in its written reply, the ministry confirmed that Chandigarh Railway Station is being redeveloped under the ABS scheme with a sanctioned cost of Rs 436.29 crore. While structural works on the Panchkula and Chandigarh sides have been completed — including platform upgradation, foot overbridges, parking areas, and new building finishes — the ministry admitted that no definite completion date can be given due to numerous on-ground challenges. These include statutory clearances (fire, heritage, airport), shifting of utilities (water, sewage, power, optical fibre), ongoing train operations, and speed restrictions due to nearby high-voltage lines. All these factors, the ministry claimed, are affecting progress, and thus no timeline can be committed at this stage. The station's inclusion in the national ABS scheme is part of a broader plan to modernise 1,337 stations across the country, out of which work at 105 has already been completed. However, work at Chandigarh railway station is still not complete. The ministry stated that routine inspections are being conducted and cleanliness is being maintained, but passengers and local residents continue to face overcrowding and inadequate amenities. Chandigarh falls under Northern Railway, which has been allocated Rs 2,216 crore under Plan Head-53 for customer amenities for the financial year 2025–26, mentioned the ministry in its response to Tewari's question.


Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
Vacant Land Tax Committee to recover over Rs 870 crore tax dues in Vijayawada
Vijayawada: Aiming to enhance the tax collection revenue, the NTR district administration has constituted a Vacant Land Tax Committee (VLTC) to collect pending vacant land tax dues from tax payers within Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) limits. The VLTC will comprise of the revenue wings from both VMC and NTR district administration along with town planning of VMC and district stamps and registration department personnel. It was found that despite Rs 237 crore vacant land tax demand, the civic body managed to collect only Rs 19 crore, totalling a mere 8.18% out of the total vacant land tax from tax payers in the previous 2024-25 financial year in the city. The VMC has around 15,000 vacant land tax assessments across the 64 divisions under three circles in the city. "The vacant land tax collection remains low due to the unavailability of the whereabouts of the original owners. Majority of the taxpayers reside in other places thus tracking and tracing of these vacant land owners is not possible for the municipal corporation personnel due to which the vacant land collection dues are mounting in the VMC," a senior municipal corporation official told TOI. More than Rs 870 crore vacant land tax dues to be paid by the tax payers were pending to the civic body in the last five financial years between 2020-2025, according to VMC records. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Family Adopted A New 'Dog', But When The Vet Sees It He Calls The Police Undo "With the help of the revenue department officials including VROs, MROs, and sub registrars the address details of the tax payers will be identified secretariat wise across all secretariats. Notices will be served to top 10 tax payers identified under each secretariat," the VMC official said and added that initially the identification of tax defaulters exercise will begin from those secretariats which are having least number of tax defaulters. The official added that the ward secretariat staff of the municipal corporation will be handed over to the revenue and stamps and registration department personnel to find out their address details.


Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
Disclose solar power price supplied to other states, HC tells SECI
Vijayawada: The high court on Wednesday directed Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to disclose the price of solar power at which it was supplying to other states, at the time it entered into an agreement to supply power to Andhra Pradesh at Rs 2.49 per unit. The court also directed to place the orders of Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) approving the unit price quoted by SECI. CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna and then TDP MLA and present finance minister Payyavula Keshav filed separate PILs in the high court challenging the agreement made by the then YSRCP govt with SECI for supply of 7,000 MW of solar power at Rs 2.49 per unit. The counsel for the petitioner argued that SECI made an agreement to supply solar power at Rs 2.49 per unit with AP, but the same SECI made an agreement with Gujarat govt for supply of solar power at Rs 1.99 per unit. The counsel further said that the power purchase price should be derived through tender route according to the Electricity Act but it was not followed while entering into an agreement with SECI. Arguing on behalf of the state govt, advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas said the high court has allowed APERC to decide the unit price and it has approved the price quoted by SECI. The petitioners can challenge the decision of APERC if they have any grievances on the same. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like For all your EV needs ScottishPower Learn More Undo The counsel for SECI submitted that the per unit price of solar power used to be anywhere between Rs 2.52 and Rs 2.61 at the time when it entered an agreement with AP. The unit price offered to AP was the lowest at that time when compared to other states, he stated. Considering the arguments, the high court bench headed by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice Ravi Cheemalapati directed SECI to submit an affidavit with details of prices at which it had made agreements with other states at the time of entering into the agreement with AP.